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Unique trackway on Permian Karoo shoreline provides evidence of temnospondyl locomotory behaviour
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6570-0436
Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Paleobiology.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1196-8693
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2054-4673
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2023 (English)In: PLOS ONE, E-ISSN 1932-6203, Vol. 18, no 3, article id e0282354Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Large-bodied temnospondyl amphibians were the dominant predators in non-marine aquatic ecosystems from the Carboniferous to the Middle Triassic. In the Permian-aged lower Beaufort Group ofthe main Karoo Basin, South Africa, temnospondyls are represented exclusively by the family Rhinesuchidae and are well represented by body fossils, whereas trace fossils are scarce. Accordingly, most interpretations of the behaviour of this family are based on skeletal morphology and histological data. Here we document the sedimentology and palaeontology of a late Permian palaeosurface situated immediately below the palaeoshoreline ofthe Ecca Sea (transition from the Ecca Group to the Beaufort Group) near the town of Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The surface preserves numerous ichnofossils, including tetrapod footprints and fish swim-trails, but most striking are seven body impressions and associated swim trails that we attribute to amedium-sized (~1.9 mlong) rhinesuchid temnospondyl. These provide valuable insight into the behaviour of these animals. The sinuous shape ofsome of the traces suggest that the tracemaker swam with continuous sub-undulatory propulsion of the tail.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2023. Vol. 18, no 3, article id e0282354
Keywords [en]
Permian, Karoo, temnospondyl
National Category
Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Ecosystems and species history; The changing Earth
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-5245DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282354OAI: oai:DiVA.org:nrm-5245DiVA, id: diva2:1747488
Available from: 2023-03-30 Created: 2023-03-30 Last updated: 2023-12-06Bibliographically approved

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Groenewald, David P.Krüger, AshleyPenn-Clarke, Cameron R.
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